i have no doubts now that the energy independence path forward for the usa now has no technical impediments. we now know we have the ng and oil supply within the usa (and the canadian oil sands will be surplus supply that will drive the oil price down lower than it would have been without the canadian oil sands oil.), and we now know we have the drilling and recovery technology and the engine technology/manufacturing to do the job. the field discovery and engineering work has been done and continues. it will only improve over the next decade as more discovery is made, and more refinement and invention of drilling techniques and safety occurs.
the problem right now in realizing this energy independence "manifest destiny" is we have a kind of mystery science theater 3000 set of characters/robots, i.e., the president of the usa, the head of the epa, the secretary of the interior, and the secretary of energy, who cannot distinguish between a bad movie and a good movie.
i would call it mystery science theater 2008, because when they are presented with good ideas, scripts, strategies and tactics that are popular with the public, reduce consumer cost burdens, and are working in the energy field and could work even better, the chief wisecracker character, the president of the usa thinks he should wisecrack, riff, make fun, and generally run down anything that would work differently than ideas he and his other mystery science 2008 robots have or hold as postulates. so they talk as their own little peanut gallery while thinking they have all the time in the world. |
